Freedom of Religion or Belief Toolkit for Parliamentarians in Asia

Freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) faces a unique and growing set of challenges. Rapid access to the internet and social media has led to new online venues to harass people of various faiths with little or no consequence for the perpetrators.

Increasing political polarization severely curtails the ability of even well-meaning governments to address this issue. In light of these challenges, it is clear that more must be done, sooner, and with greater efficacy and sustained impact to ensure incidences of religious intolerance become outliers, rather than a harmful new normal.

Politicians and activists are actively engaged in protecting religious freedom and are seeking to amplify their impact, but face a dearth of resources, lack of institutional expertise and few channels for sharing best practices regionally and internationally. This website compiles resources, expertise, networks and toolkits to guide legislators and others seeking to promote FoRB in Asia.

Introductory Guides to Freedom of Religion or Belief

Asian MPs in Action

Statement of Hon Kasthuri Patto in response to UMNO's Senator Khairul Azwan Harun on the move by the Ministry of Communication and Multimedia's initiative for the Communications and Multimedia Commission's through the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Media to encourage Malaysians to report inflammatory materials touching on race, religion and royalty in respect of freedom of speech.

From 15 to 17 July 2019, the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief (IPPFoRB) brought four parliamentarians from Canada, Indonesia and South Africa to the US Ministerial to Advance the Religious Freedom, in Washington, D.C. This was the occasion for them to engage with a broad range of partners, including senior government officials, international organizations, religious leaders and civil society activists.

Jul 18, 2019

FoRB Developments in Southeast Asia

PETALING JAYA: Sisters in Islam (SIS) will continue to challenge the fatwa by the Selangor Fatwa Committee declaring it a deviant organisation even after a high court dismissed its judicial review application.

Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) said it is extremely concerned by the dismissal at the Kuala Lumpur High Court of Sisters in Islam (SIS)’s judicial review application against a 2014 Selangor fatwa declaring it as "deviant".

SINGAPORE - Changes to a law that safeguards religious harmony in Singapore will be introduced in Parliament next week, in a move to pave the way for the Government to deal with new threats in a comprehensive and timely manner.

States must do more to stop hate crimes and promote interfaith initiatives, say UN rights experts

GENEVA (21 August 2019) – States have an important role to play in promoting religious tolerance and cultural diversity by promoting and protecting human rights, including freedom of religion or belief, say a group of UN independent experts*.

Responding to a recent call by UN Secretary General António Gutteres, religious communities in hundreds of locations throughout Vietnam will hold prayer services this Thursday August 22, for victims of acts of violence based on religion or belief.

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) has called on the Selangor state government to withdraw the unilateral conversion Bill.

Malaysiakini's story on a proposal that might be put before the Selangor State Assembly to allow for unilateral conversion has stoked not just controversy but also talk to the ouster of both the Menteri Besar and Speaker of House. K. Shanmuga, Director of the Malaysian Centre for Constitutionalism & Human Rights join Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan to clarify points of law in this link.

Religious freedom in the United States is guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

Buddhists in Vietnam may not face violent attacks, but government restrictions on their faith are keenly felt.

While reports of arrests of, or attacks on, Buddhists in Vietnam are not frequent, the religious community has for decades lived in a perpetual atmosphere of persecution, which cannot be quantified by the number of “incidents” but instead manifests through official and unofficial restrictions imposed by the Southeast Asian country’s communist government.

Aug 7, 2019

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